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The iPhone 16 series got a big charging upgrade that Apple didn't talk about
- Certification data for the iPhone 16 series indicates that all four phones support fast charging up to 45W.
- Apple does not disclose wired charging speeds for its products like other smartphone companies. It also highlights charging speeds with a lower-spec 20W charger, alongside improved 25W MagSafe charging.
- For context, the iPhone 15 Pro Max charged as high as 29W as per testing and certification.
After months of waiting, the new iPhone 16 series is here. Most of the upgrades on the devices are quite minor, so Apple spent a lot of time talking about the new Camera Control and the upcoming Apple Intelligence features. Apple also highlighted the new MagSafe charging speeds on the devices, but the company didn’t bother to highlight what is arguably one of the most significant upgrades to the iPhone 16 series: 45W fast charging!
Certification data for the iPhone 16 series, as spotted by Whylab on Weibo (via ShrimpApplePro on X, formerly known as Twitter), indicates that the iPhone 16 (A3294), iPhone 16 Plus (A3297), iPhone 16 Pro (A3288), and iPhone 16 Pro Max (A3291) can charge at a maximum of 45W with compatible chargers.
That is a big jump from its predecessors and a talking point worth highlighting. It is also impressive that all four phones are at the max 45W, and there’s no differentiation between the standard iPhone 16 and the iPhone 16 Pro.
For comparison, the iPhone 15 charged at a maximum of 20W, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max went up to ~29W. Apple does not share battery and charging specifications for its devices, so we have to rely on certification data and independent test results to determine these specifications.
Apple continues to highlight charging speeds with a 20W adapter, which is why the iPhone 16 Pro Max spec page mentions that it is fast-charge capable, going up to 50% in around 30 minutes with a 20W or higher adapter. That isn’t so impressive, and the company would have grabbed more headlines talking about the new 45W fast-charging number.
On the other hand, just mentioning a number like 45W misses important context. This is the peak charging power and is usually seen on cool devices that are charging between 0% and 50%. The charging speed usually drops after 50% and slows down considerably after 80% on most devices, so the final few percentages take a long time. If your device is hot, the charging speed slows down even further.
You also need a compatible fast charger, and Apple doesn’t ship any charger with the newer iPhones. No charging standard is mentioned either, so narrowing down on the best value fast charger will also be challenging. Some regional iPhone 16 models may also have a different charging speed, so the model number mentioned needs to be taken into account.
We will have to verify this 45W charging speed number with independent testing and see just how long the iPhone 16 takes to charge fully. Stay tuned for that, but until then, this is even more reason to be excited about the iPhone 16 alongside its improved 25W MagSafe charging speeds. We also hope this improvement is a strong incentive for Samsung and Google to improve the charging speeds on their phones.